#the kind of Alina that claims her power and does something with it. Rebuild Ravka from its ashes. A Grisha remaking a kingdom

[aleksanderscult]

If there were anything you could change about Aleksander's and Alina's core personalities what would you choose?

Ooh interesting question...

Let's start with Aleksander. I don't think I would change anything about him, to be honest. Maybe I'd make him have less trauma because I really feel sorry for him. But that's impossible for a man that has lived for so long. When you're immortal you are bound to get traumatized by manyyy things. But no, I don't think I would change anything. I love him and accept him as he is. In fact, I admire many of his qualities (won't elaborate on them now because this requires a different ask or its own post).

Now about Alina. Boy. I would change many things. But the one thing I would absolutely change in her character is her avoidance of responsibility and selfishness. I would make her think less of Mal and more about her country and the Grisha. Literally the whole trilogy was "Mal", "Mal?", "Mal!", "Oh my Saints, Mal!", "Where is Mal??", "Don't hurt Mal!!". Like there's people that are dying here, Alina😭😭

So yeah I would make her more responsible and take the reins about this whole Grisha persecution. In a perfect world Alina would take a leading position and change things for the better for her people (while still having her powers). Try to make right from wrong. Help Nikolai restore the balance between the First and Second Army and aid him to the Fjerdan wars. Be a good diplomat in time to make Ravka have a decent (at least) relationship with Shu Han and other countries. With a powerful Grisha as Queen and a charismatic otkazat'sya as King, Ravka could change for the better. Even without her powers her influence would be great, I think. Alina could grow herself to become a good leader only if she stopped thinking about herself and getting overwhelmed with her feelings. Like in R&R when she thought "I wish I had cut that rope and let them all drown" or something. So yeah. Thinking more rationally, be a pragmatist and work for the greater good of her country. She saw the state of Ravka, the state of Dva Stolba (the place she was born) where people were living in exhausting and terrible conditions. She felt pity for them. Did she do something about it? Nope.

When the Darkling died she should have said "Yes, what he did was horrible. But why did he do those things? What pushed him over the edge? What made him be this way? What he was fighting so ardently for?" and then try to fix these things in her own way. She should learn from the Darkling (his mistakes, his words to her, his actions, his cause), instead of running away and leaving everyone behind.

Everybody always criticizes the villains and their deeds (characters and readers alike) but nobody ever asks why and what made them this way. And nobody ever tries to solve the problem they were fighting for.

No. We only care about their defeat.

(Oh and I would have her have more badass moments like when she used the Cut to destroy the dome in the dining hall of the Little Palace in S&S or when she used her powers to stand up to the Apparat and his men in R&R. We needed a more assertive Alina, let's be honest 😌).